"Human Rights Watch writes letter to Donald Trump, listing everything he should backtrack on" Read through to some interesting links off this page, like the one connecting Trump's NSA pick (Flynn?) to Putin:

"Jill Stein to file ballot recount suit in Wisconsin after fundraising effort passes $4.7m" - this story covered in many places. Not counting on any changes in final outcome, but we still need to find out if the election was hacked by say, the Russians. sf - they're looking for volunteers in your part of the country.

I read a takedown of the fascism article that explained all the supposed "flags" were not unique to fascism. It seemed to be at the time a takedown of the Republican party (not that they did not deserve it...).

Wonderful lawyer letter. So true.

I "ran out of articles" at the washington post and can't read it. Am mulling paying $19 for one year of online national and digital news (special offer).

And this commentary which reiterates what so many better known people have said:

We cannot allow ourselves to feel that what is happening to our country is normal. As much as we want to move back into a place of equilibrium and feel that everything will be ok, we can't. Things will not be ok again unless we actively prevent Trump and his legions from achieving their goals. We must get up off of the couch and away from our computers and take to the streets every time the opportunity presents itself. We must open our wallets to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU to make sure that they can continue to provide service and fight for our Constitution. We must write an avalanche of letters to our local, state and federal representatives and officials and make sure they know we are watching and that we demand that they do their jobs and protect our freedoms and rights. We must talk to our family and friends to help them understand the serious challenges that our country is facing. It is up to us to make sure that Donald Trump and his haters fail and that we take our country back from the precipice.

In assessing Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Americans continue to look away from this election’s most alarming story: the successful effort by a hostile foreign power to manipulate public opinion before the vote.

***U.S. intelligence agencies determined that the Russian government actively interfered in our elections.*** Russian state propaganda gave little doubt that this was done to support Republican nominee Trump, who repeatedly praised Vladimir Putin and excused the Russian president’s foreign aggression and domestic repression. Most significantly, U.S. intelligence agencies have affirmed that the Russian government directed the illegal hacking of private email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and prominent individuals.

Russian (and former communist) propaganda has traditionally worked exactly this way: The more you “report” something negatively, the more the negative is true. Trump and supportive media outlets adopted the technique and reveled in information gained from the illegal Russian hacking

Part of the Russian operation’s success is that we cannot measure the effect. ...
But there are certainties: The email operation increased negative stories about Clinton, fueled an immense propaganda attack and diminished coverage of actual issues. The large polling lead Clinton gained after the debates slipped significantly under this barrage of negativity — even before FBI Director James B. Comey’s bombshell.

***Again, was there coordination with this foreign intervention? (with the Trump team)***

Putin is pursuing large strategic goals:... In pursuing these aims, Putin is engaged in a disciplined effort to influence democratic politics in the West, *** including financial and propaganda support for the narrow Brexit victory and for a network of far-right (and pro-Russian) nationalist political parties and groups throughout Europe*** . Now he has achieved what had to have been his most improbable goal: helping elect a sympathetic U.S. president who wants to form an alliance against terrorism. What will Trump give in exchange?

***Frighteningly, Putin’s worldview has resonance in the populist and nationalist fixations of Stephen K. Bannon,*** the president-elect’s senior counselor, whose stated mission is to “destroy” the “establishment” and end the domination of the “donor class.” Bannon’s “closing argument” ad for Trump, redolent of Russian propaganda, described the United States as a corrupt and failing state because of nefarious “global special interests.”

Thanks for posting those articles Lynx and Bookfan. The Charles Blow is the best statement I've seen, and the lawyer letter well describes how I (as a lawyer) feel about Trump.

I volunteered to be part of the recount team here in Michigan. Part of me wants to see it succeed, of course. However, I suspect there will be widespread violence if it does. I also wonder if people don't have to see for themselves how much Trump lied and how many of his promises he will back down on. Unless he's in office, their hopes of bringing coal jobs to Kentucky and manufacturing jobs to the Midwest will be dashed by Clinton. I think that will make Trump and the alt right even more dangerous. If he's in office, they will instead see those pipe dreams being dashed by Trump, which might have a better long term effect. My aunt is dependent on social security and Medicare and voted for Trump. I'm not sure what will get her to open her eyes more than eliminating those safety net programs.

Of course, I know innocent people will be hurt by giving Trump enough time to hang himself. That is the scary part. However, I read an article suggesting that many supporters expect him to turn things around in 6 months. Maybe they will lose patience before he has had time to totally screw things up?

He can't easily get out of the Paris Accord, but eliminating the Endangered Species Act and the EPA and selling off public lands will cause irreversible damage as would eliminating the pesky FDA regulations that Republicans hate.

I also think it is at least somewhat likely the Republicans, who hate Trump, will try to have him impeached. If they can find any link between him and the Russian hacking, they probably have a good case (I hope they go for a charge of treason too.) They also have Trump's conflict of interest and his thumbing his nose at doing the things all previous Republican and Democratic presidents have done to guard against it, such as putting all assets in a blind trust.

The problem with that scenario is that we are stuck with Pence, who may be more sane, but may also be more nasty than Trump. Also, the Republicans I am sure know that acting against Trump will will make half of their base angry at them. They will become bigger enemies to the base than the Democrats are. On the other hand, many of them are lawyers and I suspect also believe in many of the conclusions stated the letter posted by Bookfan. It is hard not to agree with that if you have a decent understanding (lawyer or not) of checks and balances. Also, if they don't move against Trump and it comes out that Trump is self dealing or knew the Russians were interfering with the election, moderate voters may turn on the GOP.

It is all unsettling. I don't hold out much hope that the election would be overturned, no matter how absolutely right that would be.

Christiane Amanapour gave a great speech recently.

"This week CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, received the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. It is awarded at the International Press Freedom Awards for "extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom. Her acceptance speech was an inspiring appeal to "recommit to robust, fact-based reporting" in the Age of Trump. "

That was a terrific piece, Lynx. There's so much insight to what's just happened put into a historical context.

@SkittleandTwix:
" However, I suspect there will be widespread violence if it does. I also wonder if people don't have to see for themselves how much Trump lied and how many of his promises he will back down on."

I agree. I think the chance of a turnaround in the outcome is next to nil. But our voting system is very vulnerable to manipulation, which is reason enough to do recount.

But then there's this:
If you’re even asking if Russia hacked the election, Russia got what it wanted - It's all about sowing confusion and doubt.
Talking about these voting machines distracts us from what such speculation represents: the success of a broader Russian strategy to weaken Americans’ trust in democracy.

"I also think it is at least somewhat likely the Republicans, who hate Trump, will try to have him impeached. If they can find any link between him and the Russian hacking, they probably have a good case (I hope they go for a charge of treason too.) They also have Trump's conflict of interest and his thumbing his nose at doing the things all previous Republican and Democratic presidents have done to guard against it, such as putting all assets in a blind trust. "

"Donald Trump released a video announcing his agenda for his “first day in office.” One of the things he said is, “I will formulate a rule which says that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated.” Can we count the number of ways this is absurd and dangerous?

"Under Trump’s 2-for-1 idea, if we want to have a regulation that a company can’t store explosives next to an elementary school, we have to eliminate a regulation that protects us from food poisoning AND a regulation that stops companies from taking money out of your bank account for no reason? (Or how about creating fake accounts and charging them fees?)"

Dave Johnson at the Campaign for America’s Future explains how regulations are regulations for "We the People". To protect us. To make life better.

The deficit exploded under Reagan. Watch it happen again as the rich get a big tax break. And they'll blame it on the Dems.

Education secretary is a big proponent of vouchers for private schools, which undermine public education.

EPA head wants to roll back regulations & eventually get rid of the whole agency(?) or something like that. Those regulations protect the environment & cost businesses money. So since there is no such thing as global warming, lets not interfere with anyone who wants to make a lot of money while trashing the environment.